This writing is for you dear reader who has experienced a spiritual
awakening and wishes to know what it means to be born again the Biblical
way.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.

(John 3:3)

If you are looking for a formula to recite to become born again, you will
not find it here. I hope that the following few pages will stir your soul
and that you will read them through. There will undoubtedly be some facts
that you will not readily accept. Some you will not understand at first
and many you have not heard before. If you are serious in your search though,
you will in all probability read this publication through several times
to absorb the many new considerations. Let it be stated at the outset that
your minister or priest might not have told you these things for various
reasons. As hard as it is to believe, he might not be born again himself.
We will only be using the Bible, God's word, as the source of our information,
so everything can readily be checked. And at this stage please accept the
Bible as truth, the same way that a little child accepts the authority
of an adult.

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive
the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

(Mark 10:15)

Anyway, what does the word BIBLE stand for?

Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.

Sounds reasonable doesn't it? It is God's Instruction Manual, and when
you are a born again Christian it is the "Owner's Manual". Would you use
a Jetta owner's manual to repair your car if you owned a Corolla? We can
only find the truth if we study the Scriptures. Any teaching that
is contrary to the Bible is false doctrine and the person promoting it
shall be accursed. Later on you will learn something about who Jesus really
is. When He was on the earth in the flesh, in the form of a man, He affirmed
that the Bible was from God when praying to His heavenly Father.

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

(John 17:17)

A Basic Instrument

The purpose of this publication is to whet your appetite for more so that
you can search for that "Pearl of Great Price". If you persevere and ride
this roller-coaster to the end, you will see some of the power of the Kingdom
of God. A Kingdom not of this world, but of the real world - the spiritual
one which is everlasting. Thereafter it is up to you - you will have
to find it for yourself. You are going to read a great deal and hopefully
understand more about the word "will". Look it up in the biggest dictionary
that you can find as it has a lot of connotations. It appears 3837 times
in the Bible.

Ready, Steady, GO

Here is the story of Festus, a little mongrel, seven weeks old, lying with
his two brothers in a cage outside a pet shop as my wife and I walked by.
We had talked about obtaining a smallish inside dog in a vague way for
a year or two and when the label attached to the cage read "daschund x
fox terrier R30" we stopped. That changed his destiny, because when I opened
the cage, this little pup got up from between his two sleeping brothers
and came towards the front wagging his tail. He was taken out, placed on
the ground and inspected. He passed the relevant tests, so we paid for
him, placed him on the floor of the car behind the passenger seat and brought
him home. On arrival, it was found that he had crawled under the front
passenger seat, lying there all curled up with his ears down and refusing
to come out on his own. Here he was, alone for the first time, in strange
surroundings, moving in a big box that bumped around. He was scared.

The puppy needed the security of a box, something that was his, a box
next to my bed so that every time he whimpered in the night my hand could
comfort him. He recognised my smell. I was his protector. Morning noon
and night I was his provider. I cleaned up his mistakes and when, in the
dark I walked in them, I cleaned myself. I was always clean to him. That
helped him become house-trained.
He could have gone to a cruel master, one that kicked him, starved
him, left him outside in the winter night. He would still have loved his
master because he knew no better. But I purchased him; with my money I
paid the price that was asked. And he got a good and loving master.
First comes the messing stage, on the carpets, anywhere. The puppy
drinks milk because his stomach is not yet strong enough for solids. Then
comes wilful messing. This is stopped with a clout with a rolled up newspaper
as he is shown my displeasure without him being hurt. The puppy loves me,
he wants to be obedient so he tries not to mess, getting better all the
time. He learns to scratch at the door, or come and wake me in the night
to be let out. Do you think that it is pleasant to be woken in the cold
of a winter's night to let the puppy out? It is done because I love him
already, and put myself out to carry on with his training. Sooner or later
he learns to wait the night through and I get a night's sleep. What would
happen if my puppy grew into a dog and still messed every night? He would
be put outside - he would become an outside dog. I would lose my special
love for him, he would be tolerated when he was good. If he became too
disobedient or vicious, he would be disposed of to protect others. He might
even be given to someone who would use him for dog fighting. He might die
an early and painful death.

Although he is still a pup, he is at present lying under this desk and
at meal times he sits or lies on my feet. He likes taking my wife's shoes
or slippers from under the bed in the early morning and chewing on them
while we sleep. He does not do this to mine because he knows the consequences.
Yesterday morning when it was getting light, I heard him pick something
up and on investigating, found him busy with my wife's slipper. Immediately
that he saw me he crept away, knowing that he had done wrong and when he
had received his clout he came wagging his tail and asked to be let out.
He jumps up at my wife still because she does not correct him. Sometimes,
if I correct him for something, he is inclined to run to her and she might
pat him. He has learned that sometimes I am angry with him but my wife
seldom. He has learned where he can go to get his ego stroked. At this
stage he still comes to me. Will this always be so? Will he love me enough
to stay faithful, or shall he take what he can from me but spend more time
with someone else? Will he become disobedient because he is not corrected
anymore? Will I lose my dog to another because life is so easy for him
now? If so, he will sooner or later become so spoilt that he will be confused
as to what is right and what is wrong. By then it is too late to show him
his mistakes, because he will not like to be corrected, he will not understand
the difference between privileges and rights.

The other day Festus was called away from a car coming up the driveway.
He came towards me, changed his mind because the car was more exciting,
ran down to greet my son Anthony and just missed being run over. He ran
past me - ignoring the call to "come" - to greet Anthony in the car-port.
When he followed Anthony into the house, he received an unpleasant experience
for being disobedient. He also recently messed in the lounge because he
couldn't get out and when called, he came into the lounge but refused to
approach too close to his mistake for fear of the consequences. He received
a clout for being disobedient and a smaller one to show him that disobedience
is worse than mistakes.
He does not want to do what might be unpleasant, and does not yet understand
that if he learns obedience, I will be able to protect him from his enemies
and will not let him down or forsake him. He will be able to trust me completely.

The worldly saga of Festus runs parallel in many ways with the spiritual
experiences of a new Christian and his narrative will help you understand
many new ideas, words and phrases as we carry on.

For example, when a new puppy comes into a house, everyone wants to play
with him and make friends; so it is when you are born again.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

(Luke 15:10)

Don't Believe What People Say

In some churches, after an impassioned sermon, the preacher will call people
up to the altar, ask them to repeat a prayer after him, they will be asked
to go in to a separate room, their names and addresses taken and they'll
be told that they are "Born Again". In other churches it is taught that
you only need to be sprinkled with water to be born again, still others
that you can only be born again if you belong to their church denomination.
All this is a lie of Satan the deceiver who is your deadly enemy. He wants
you to go to the lake of fire because he knows what's in the Bible, that
this is his ultimate destination and he doesn't want you to have a better
future than him. He wants to lull you into a false sense of security. He
doesn't want you to search further in case you find the Truth.

First Stirrings

The stirring of a spiritual awakening in a person is a wonderful happening.
Suddenly one is aware of new values; sometimes it is a period of great
stress, but something is different. It doesn't always happen in church;
with me it happened in my sister's lounge while watching television. Being
born again is a spiritual encounter, not an emotional one, although emotions
are certainly running high.

An example of the difference between an emotional encounter and a spiritual
one is this: Imagine that you are inspired by a stirring sermon on a Sunday.
How do you feel on Wednesday when a Christian wants to visit you? Will
you welcome him or will you try and put him off?
It is also a doing experience. Do not expect the Lord Jesus to force
Himself onto you. You must go to Him. You must take the initiative. There
is a very famous painting of a person standing at the front door of a house.
That door has no handle, only a knocker. The person knocking at the door
is Jesus, the door is the door to your heart. There is no handle because
you must open the door from the inside. You must do the doing. You must
be willing always to do the doing. If you willingly open the door to Him,
only then will He come in. Don't wait too long after you hear the knock,
or He might be gone.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he
that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6 )

Remember the puppy at the pet shop? Although he didn't have the power to
open the door, he came to us happily. Already he had done almost enough
to be chosen. He was different to his brothers for that reason alone.

How Do I Get It?

You ask "How do I attain that spiritual experience which is the start of
being born again?" Only you know your own circumstances. However, you should
search, and continue searching as your knowledge grows, for a Bible believing
church or group of Christians and attend a few of their meetings.

Do they teach or preach strictly according to the Bible or not? As
you have very little Biblical knowledge at this stage, you must balance
your ignorance with extreme caution. Beware! Satan the deceiver has his
eye on you already and he will lead you to the wrong church if given half
a chance. Be prepared to move on at any time. You might also notice that
many "Christian" organisations will come into your orbit all of a sudden.
Red Light!Being born again might not be an instantaneous experience, but the
culmination of a series of events. Imagine a real baby being born. Is it
born as it comes out of its mother, or when it breathes life-giving air
for the first time? Being born is the start of living.
To be born again you must be prepared to be in Covenant with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ and then need to believe. Not believe, but
believe. The difference is like black and grey.

What Is A Covenant?

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, such as a marriage contract.
A blood covenant is an unbreakable and never-ending contract and is not
lightly entered into. You must learn about and start obeying the terms
of the Blood Covenant and get better at it. When you break it you are out
of the will of the other covenant party (God). When you ask for forgiveness
and repent (say you are sorry and you will try not to do it again) you
will be forgiven. You will be forgiven as long as you are not in sin willingly.
For example:

If you are in wilful sin such as smoking,

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God's.

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

or exceeding the speed limit, which is breaking the law,

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power
but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good
works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister
of God to thee for good.

(Romans 13:1-4)

you are demonstrating that you are a young Christian and do not know the
consequences of your sin or that perhaps you are not born again. You might
think that you are, but that is the ghost of the glory that is departed.

You don't have to prove to anyone that you are born again, and God knows.

The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward
parts of the belly.

(Proverbs 20:27)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the
reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according
to the fruit of his doings.

(Jeremiah 17:9-10)

Be Obedient

If we are disobedient to the Covenant with God through Jesus (The New Covenant),
all the works that we do for the Lord are works only - without reward.
If we are obedient to the prompting of God to do certain works for Him,
we will be blessed.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

(Ephesians 2:8-10)

When wayward, we can pray to Jesus, but He will not hear us because He
is in Covenant with God and He will not break His Covenant. We must follow
His rules, not the other way round. Many church-goers say "I am a child
of the Lord"; "I am born again" and yet they are contrary to God's will.
They do not strive to obey. Do they think that God is a softy?

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall
eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured
with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

(Isaiah 1:18-20)

Reason it out - God had to send his only Son; it is like saying
that He came Himself, to be tortured and to die for you. Would He do that
if He was a softy? God cannot change - for instance He cannot be evil.
Do you think that He will break His word for you? Do you realise what you
are thinking? Do you think "God can't be like that, He loves me". Are you
willing to risk it? Are you willing to take a chance of where you will
spend forever? Let us presume that I am wrong, spreading a lie. Do you
know what will happen to me when I stand face to face before my Maker,
The Creator, El Shaddai? Why do you think that this has been written? For
personal fame here on earth? Having met Jesus, I love Him with a spiritual
love, am open to the Holy Spirit and wish to be obedient to my Lord, doing
what was commanded of all disciples:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and,
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen.

(Matthew 28:19-20)

The Real World

When people are dead to the spirit world, coincidences happen to them.
Once they are open, either to Satan's kingdom here on earth, or The Kingdom
of God, many of these coincidences are seen as supernatural happenings.
These occurrences are only perceived as spiritual, once a person is aware
of spiritual things.

Here are some personal examples of God's providence that happened over
a short period of time:
Birds have always fascinated me in an amateur way. Once, when towing
our caravan in the lowveld, I caught the red flash of a bird's wings as
it entered dense bush near the roadside and remarked to my wife that the
red was unfamiliar and we wondered what bird it could be. An hour or so
later, when the caravan was parked under a tree near Nelspruit, and while
sitting inside reading the Bible, I caught a movement and looked up. Almost
in touching distance sat a beautiful Purple Crested Lourie. We watched
each other for quite a while before it flew off, and as it did I caught
a flash of red. Hastily I scrambled to the door and watched as it glided
down the valley in the sunshine with its red wings extended. I knew
that this was not coincidence, but a manifestation of the Kingdom and said
"Thank you Lord" as I experienced the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
A couple of months later we were in the Western Cape, together with
some friends from England. This was the time of the coin changeover and
Roy was collecting a set of the old ones to take back with him. One day
while we were on our way from Paarl to Langebaan, he asked about the Blue
Crane, which is depicted on the five cent coin. Within five minutes a Blue
Crane came into sight about four hundred metres from the road in a stubble
field on the right. As we passed, I was able to point to it in a vague
way and was still explaining when another became visible in the field on
the left. I was able to stop the car in time, open the boot and extract
binoculars for him to have a look. We did not sight any other Blue Cranes
on the entire month-long trip.

For a spiritual explanation of these manifestations of the Kingdom of God
please read Matthew 6:5-8.

Once a person believes in the power of the spiritual (real) world, "miracles"
start happening.

The English evangelist, David Pawson, tells this story, and if you
like, you can call it a miracle. I like to think of it as a demonstration
of the Power of the Kingdom. David tells of a young man who became a new
creature in Christ Jesus, and in loving obedience wanted to be baptised.
However, his problem was that he had a large picture of Satan tattooed
on his shoulder, which he felt had to be removed. After consulting various
doctors and skin specialists, it was found that this was not practically
possible. After much praying and soul searching he decided to get baptised
anyway. When he came up out of the waters of baptism, that tattoo and only
that tattoo had disappeared. Hallelujah!

You see, we worship The Living God, not a character in a fairy story.

The purple skinned man of Africa is more spiritually aware than his pleasure
loving pink skinned cousin. Here is the story of William, a conscientious
and able African who became a shiftboss in the building industry. When
the firm that he was working for closed down, another similar position
was found for him. Unfortunately he inadvertently replaced someone else;
lets call him Joe. Now Joe was understandably upset, and to regain his
position of authority he went to a witch doctor, paid his fee and had a
curse of blindness placed on William. Joe then went back to William and
told him what was going to befall him. When the semi-blind William told
me the story, I could not believe that he was so gullible. He then said
something that has stayed with me for many years, namely; "It does not
happen to you white people".

Only after I became a Christian did I understand that it is called
faith. He believed that it would happen to him.

Miracles are inside you, because the Kingdom of God is inside you.

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should
come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God
cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!
for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

(Luke 17:20-21)

It is the authority that makes Christians different, the power that is
released by the Holy Spirit to those that have the faith. These spiritual
occurrences become more and more common as time passes and that person's
faith grows. Do you know how easy it is to heal disease - if only you would
believe?

What Is Faith?

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his
garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in
her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately
knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in
the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee,
and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that
had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what
was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made
thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

(Mark 5:27-34)

Jesus was in a throng of people, many pushing against Him, but when a woman
with faith touched His clothing she was cured. Jesus felt the loss of "virtue"
and He knew that someone had touched Him in faith. Jesus told it all in
verse 34. The Kingdom power was in Jesus at the time (John 14:11) as The
Holy Spirit had descended on Him at the time of His baptism. We who are
born again also have this Kingdom power and must learn how to use it.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth
on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

(John 14:12)

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler
of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

(Mark 5:36)

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the
palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I
will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I
am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word
only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having
soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and
to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth
it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that
followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found
so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall
be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go
thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.
And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

(Matthew 8:5-13)

What does the word "believe" mean? There are at least three explanations
from a Biblical perspective.

Firstly, if you ask most people in South Africa if they believe in
Jesus (that they are Christians) they will answer in the affirmative. Because
they are not Hindus they are Christians. They believe in a vague and uninterested
manner. They have heard of Jesus.
Secondly, there are the church-goers who believe in Jesus because they
have been taught to believe so, possibly from a young age. They know of
Him. This is also a dead believe.
Thirdly, there are those who know Jesus as their Redeemer, who have
a personal relationship with Him. This believe is alive because
it grows as the person walks under the guidance of the Lord the Holy Spirit.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he
that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6 )

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

(Romans 10:17)

Do Miracles Still Happen?

Why were there miracles in the time of the Acts of the Apostles and not
now?

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer,
being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's
womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which
is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And
Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he
gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter
said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the
right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle
bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered
with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

(Acts 3:1-8)

Because in those days they understood covenants, were obedient and believed.
If we can do the same as them, then we can do the same as them.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

(John 15:7)

Does The Bible Tell The Truth?

There are Bibles, and then there are Bibles. Satan, through men and women,
has changed the wording in many renderings, so at this stage it is recommended
that you purchase an inexpensive King James version.

Being God's created being, it would be impertinent to presume why my
Creator did or did not do something, or as to whether He had a "Plan B"
to fall back on in case Adam ate of the forbidden fruit. I believe that
my Creator is all-powerful, all-righteous, all-knowing and unchanging,
and I must therefore use the events in the Bible as lessons that are to
be followed in love and obedience without questioning whether they are
true or not. Of course they are true. Believe as a little child. Satan
and his demons are just waiting to confuse mankind.

Being Born Again

Further, at this early stage it must be understood that the Old Testament
is there, amongst other things, to show us God's purpose on an earthly
level - that is day to day living and dying, - so that we may understand
the New Testament, which is on a spiritual level. This enables us to find
the laws of the Kingdom of God if we search for them.

The difference is explained in John chapter 3 - we have to be born
again of the spirit after we are born of the flesh.

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that
thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born
when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and
be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and
thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

(John 3:1-8)

Jesus tells us that we are first born of "water" - that is of flesh and
blood, and then of the Spirit. He then stresses the difference in verse
8. Like the wind, one cannot see the Holy Spirit, and the person who is
under His influence looks the same, but the fruits of the Holy Spirit,
the changed outlook of the reborn person testifies to His presence. Similar
to the action of leaves under the influence of the wind.

Read the passage again, it is the axis about which your future turns
- whether you will live in heaven in obedience to Jesus, or suffer one
day in the lake of fire.

Now read up to verse 21

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered
and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and
knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that
we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe,
if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to
heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which
is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the
light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

(John 3:9-21)

The key verses are 15 and 16 and the key phrase is "believe in Him". It
does not mean believe in Him but believe in Him. It also
means to continue to believe in Him. The one meaning is worldly
and the other is spiritual. Do you believe that Jesus can cure youof cancer? Do you believe in Him?

Who Is The Holy Spirit?

Please do not be confused when you read "God", "LORD", "Lord", "Jesus"
"Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" because they are all Lord, all part of the
Godhead - The Trinity. The Holy Spirit lives within born again believers,
leading us into all truth - showing us Jesus so that we can become more
like Him. If we love someone we want to be like Him not so?

Jesus said:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things
to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew
it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore
said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

(John 16:13-15)

The Holy Spirit is inside every born again Christian and His purpose is
to show us Jesus, so that we can become more like Him. We do not have to
ask the Holy Spirit to "come" as is done in some church services; He is
already in us. We do not worship the Holy Spirit, we thank Him for showing
us the truth about Jesus.

Do not be despondent at this stage, for Satan (Lucifer) has done a
very good job in confusing mankind, especially western man. You will in
time find the truth if you do the searching.

**************************

Here It Is From A Different Angle

Right From Wrong

Everyone is born knowing good from evil.

For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing
or else excusing one another;)

(Romans 2:14-15)

The Gentiles are us, non-Jews and the law spoken of here is the law of
God.

How we are brought up either strengthens or weakens our knowledge.
If our mothers taught us to wash behind our ears, never to go out wearing
dirty underwear etc., they are teaching us what they believe is right and
wrong. They might be correct. If our fathers were drunkards, we would come
to understand that the money for the family belonged to our father because
he used it up for himself. He was physically stronger, our mother was not
strong enough to take any to buy food for the family. Our family's circumstances
were different from those of our neighbours.
Your friend down the road would have a different sense of values to
you because in her family there was plenty of food and considering that
you have never tasted them, you would believe her when she stated that
green beans taste awful. However, one day you get invited to a meal at
her house and find that green beans are delicious. You don't get enough
to eat, and are usually hungry - how can anyone say that green beans taste
awful? You see, you and your neighbour were both born knowing right from
wrong, but your different circumstances gave you different values. This
is especially true in South Africa with its many cultures. Please don't
think that yours is right and theirs is wrong. In God's eyes you are both
equal.

Then Peter opened [his] mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God
is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

(Acts 10:34-35)

Right And Wrong In The Bible

Just as you know right from wrong, so there are two different forces at
war with each other in this world. Good and evil. God is good and Satan
(Lucifer) is evil. They both want you. God wants you because He made you.
He made you in His likeness so that He will not seem strange to you when
you see Him one day. Be certain that you will meet Him - face to face.
Satan wants you because he has been condemned to the lake of fire forever
because he is evil, and he wants you there to hear your cries of anguish
just because of who he is.

The prize in this war that is being fought is our souls, all mankind's,
all men and women. Satan wants to take us from God. God wants us in heaven
so that we can be in fellowship with Him, because that is why we were made.
God seeks the glory that is His due.
Jesus said:

And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that
seeketh and judgeth.

(John 8:50)

He will be our God and we will be His people.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed away.

(Revelation 21:3-4)

God is the Creator, He is the First; He made Lucifer (Satan) and Lucifer
is a very powerful fallen being. In heaven he was possibly an archangel
with Michael. Lucifer was the entity around God's person; he guarded the
throne of God and was possibly the chief music-maker in heaven. Don't let
anyone deceive you, Satan is beautiful to look at, he was made that way
because he was with God all the time.

Now Lucifer was good looking, he was powerful but he was filled with
pride. He wanted to be like God and he, and possibly one third of the angels
in heaven, rebelled. He and his followers were defeated and thrown out
of heaven and banished to earth.

You Are In The Middle

So here we have the position in the spiritual world. We have God (righteousness)
on one side, Satan (unrighteousness) on the other and mankind in the middle.
Please understand that you are in the middle right now. You have been given
a will which is part of your soul. A will to obey or disobey the Holy One
who created you. In the garden of Eden Eve and Adam used that will to disobey
God when they chose to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good
and evil. In so doing Adam in effect gave God's gift of the earth to Satan
the serpent, who had been cast down. Read Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 to
Genesis chapter 3 verse 24 and see if you can work it out for yourself.

You Must Choose

With this will that you have been given you must choose which side in the
conflict you want to take. You cannot say "I am neutral"; you will have
to choose. And because Adam gave Satan the earth, Satan has trumps
- he is the god of this world - he will get you in any case if you stay
neutral - if you do nothing. If you choose God's side you will have to
do something. If you do nothing you have chosen Satan's side. There is
no alternative. You will end up in the lake of fire forever. Satan will
be there with you. He will probably be there when you arrive. This is not
a fable. This is reality.

Satan's Influence

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

(2 Corinthians 4:3-5)

Satan is the god of this world and he uses the physical resources of the
world, such as money, as well as his and his demons' closeness to you to
influence you spiritually. This is an all-out conflict, there is no quarter
given and you are in Satan's territory as soon as you are born. If you
are a pink-skinned western man, he deceives you with the lures of his kingdom,
such as keeping you busy, wealth, fast cars, TV, rich and plentiful food,
etc.. By doing this he makes you soft and lazy so that one day when you
have to make the choice you will be more inclined to take his side (the
easy road). If you are a purple-skinned man from Africa, he deceives you
with ancestor worship, witch-doctors and spiritual fear. You are more spiritually
aware than the pinky and he turns this to his advantage. If you are a man
with eastern roots, he deceives you with mysticism, re-incarnation and
alternative religions.

So wherever you are born on this earth, Satan has certain power over
you and you will eventually be won by him unless youdo something.
You must do something contrary to Satan's will, you must choose God's side.
You choose God's side by doing something, using your will to search for
God's side, to do His will, to be a soldier for Him. This searching, and
later fighting for God is done by reading the Bible. God's will is in the
Bible.

The Bible is the story of this struggle and more. It is an ongoing story
of covenants called testaments. There is the Old Testament (Old Covenant)
and the New Testament (New Covenant). The New Covenant is a better Covenant
because Jesus became the Second Adam. He died, was buried and rose again
from the dead, and in so doing defeated Satan on earth.

The Old Testament

The Old Covenant is made up of a series of laws: If you do this you will
be blessed; if you do that you will be cursed. Remember God is the Creator,
He makes the laws. So in the Old Covenant you had to obey the law
(called commandments). It was not easy, it was much easier to do nothing.
Because of his willingness to obey God, Abraham was called the friend of
God and was the first of a nation that was to be called The Children of
Israel. At a later stage God took His chosen people out of Egypt and led
them, through Moses, to the land that He had promised to Abraham centuries
before. However, because the people did not obey God, the journey, which
should have taken a couple of weeks, took forty years; and only two of
those that had left Egypt ever arrived in Canaan. All the others had died.
All those that crossed the Jordan river into Canaan, except for Joshua
and Caleb had been born in the desert.

In the Old Covenant, many of the examples of laws, commandments, rewards
and blessings are on a worldly level so that we can understand God's likes
and dislikes. God is unchanging as well as righteous, so His likes and
dislikes are the same today as they were at the time of Adam and Abraham.

The New Testament

God however, had planned a better Covenant from day one, and to fulfil
it or bring it into being, Jesus His only Son, came onto the earth (Satan's
kingdom) in the flesh, and being the perfect man (without sin),
He died (by the evil conniving of Satan) and undid Adam's original sin.
Adam, who was made in God's image, was perfect man. However, he chose to
break God's commandment and in so doing became sinful and gave Satan power
over him. He gave the world that God had given him control of, to Satan.
Jesus, who was a sinless man, died as a sinner and so became the Second
Adam. He undid Adam's sin. He brought Satan's kingdom to an end. He brought
it to an end for those who choose God's side. Today, if you choose God's
side in the name of Jesus (who represents the perfected Adam), Satan has
no hold over you, he has lost his power over you, you are no longer of
this world. You are now the property of Jesus because you are willing
to change. It is called Being Born Again. You are able to be reborn because
Jesus undid Adam's sin. When Jesus died He was classed by the authorities
as being sinful enough to be condemned to death on a worldly level and
He died a worldly death - the worst death that Satan could put into the
minds of men to do to each other. When He was on the cross all the power
of evil was concentrated there, willing Him to die; even the sun was darkened.
He died physically and then rose from the dead. Jesus now had a new, resurrection
body; a body with spiritual power. For example He could pass through brick
walls! An everlasting body. In a sense Jesus was born again, a new creature.
He had defeated death. Death had no power. Satan had no power. If you become
born again death has no power over you because you now know your eventual
destination. Are you afraid to die? But you are going to die physically
not so?

The following words of Jesus explain the last few sentences very well:

The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal.

(John 12:23-25)

You see, if the grain of wheat is not planted in the ground, it remains
unchanged. Once it has been planted however, the physical seed dies, but
the life therein is transformed (translated) into a growing plant, a new
body. A body that produces fruit.

The Lord Jesus Christ has made it possible for you to have the choice
that Adam was presented with.
If you become born again you become a new creature! Old things are
passed away, old worldly laws are passed away, Satan's world is a thing
of the past, you don't have to fear Satan anymore - you have power
over Satan. Call on the name of Jesus and Satan and his demons
will run from you. You have chosen the winning side. All
things are new.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

After a while you will come to understand that the real world is
the spiritual world, to a Christian it is the Kingdom of God. God is a
Spirit, Jesus is a Spirit and the Holy Ghost is a Spirit. The spiritual
world is another dimension, the same as time is another dimension. In time
you will understand that the trials and tribulations of the temporary life
that we live on this planet are only a series of exams. If we pass the
exams, when we die physically we will be in the real life with God and
Jesus forever, time without end. If we fail, we will end up in the lake
of fire, together with all the evil beings that have ever been, time without
end.

Having Read This Far

"OK", you say "you have convicted me, I want to choose God's side, what
must I do to be Born Again?"

God will show you if you are sincere and willing to seek for the Truth.

Through various prophets of the Old Covenant, God made promises to us people
of the New Covenant. "I will pour out My spirit on all flesh, I will put
my law in their hearts"

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

(Joel 2:28)

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall
be my people.

(Jeremiah 31:33)

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn
away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts,
that they shall not depart from me.

(Jeremiah 32:40)

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you;
and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them
an heart of flesh:

(Ezekiel 11:19)

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

(Ezekiel 36:27)

How does He do it? He births us spiritually, He translates us, we become
new persons.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son:

(Colossians 1:13)

Once we take the first step by declaring Jesus our Lord and meaning it,
God, the Creator, by His power, makes a spiritual bond with us in that
we are joined with Him in Covenant. This is a spiritual happening and we
have no control over it. We are now open to the will of God through His
Spirit.

God is righteous. He cannot sin. He gave Adam control of the world
and Adam gave it to Satan. God cannot change the rules and take it back.
He cannot be unrighteous. Only the Second Adam could redeem the world from
Satan.
Reading from the Genesis 2 Scripture again, we see that Adam was made
in God's image, was made perfect, was made to be in the presence of God
and was given control of the earth. He was sinless but willingly chose
to sin, to disobey his Creator. His Creator - not just anybody. Satan was
the agent to see if Adam would sin and when he ate of that fruit he moved
from God's influence to Satan's. He was influenced by Eve. Eve first ate
of the fruit and then presented Adam with a "fait accompli" - "Either eat
of this fruit that I have eaten or don't." or put another way. "I have
disobeyed God, now you must choose, either me or God." Adam knew he was
in the middle, but he didn't want to lose Eve. Adam chose the worldly pleasure
of being with Eve and lost the spiritual pleasure of being with God. Adam
moved from perfection to imperfection. He could have lived forever with
God, but in his temptation chose to live a short while with Eve.

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden
Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way
of the tree of life.

(Genesis 3:22-24)

How would you feel if, for example, you made a beautiful dining-room suite
consisting of a solid oak table and chairs for your son and his bride,
only for your new daughter-in-law to give it to someone else? Someone who
realised the love and effort that you had put into making it and had tried
once before to take it from you by force, but had failed. Moreover, your
son had rejected you and went to live in that other person's house. How
would you have felt? God is the God of love, so much so that He sent His
only Son to become the second Adam, to undo the first Adam's sin. He reversed
the process! When Jesus died He was sinless, but He died as a sinner. God
placed all of mankind's (Adam's) sin on Him and the last words that He
said before dying were "It is finished." He had turned the tables on Satan.
Satan has lost those "Adam's children" who accept Jesus as having been
their Redeemer (Saviour) out of Adam's sin. Hallelujah!

One further point that is most important to realise is that the first
man Adam chose to sin of his own free will (with a little help from his
helpmeet). God sent His Son in the flesh, to undo Adam's sin. In other
words it needed a man of flesh and blood to do this. The Son of God, who
made the world, had to demean Himself and come in the form of the created
being; further, had to allow Himself to be beaten, tortured and killed
by this created being.
What is the greatest gift that one man can give another?
His life to save yours.
If you are the richest man in the world and know that you are about
to die of cancer, you would give everything that you have for the chance
to live not so?
What if you were the richest man in the universe and chose to
die for some poor beggar that nobody took any notice of.
What if you were the Son of God and chose to do this?
Jesus Christ came from the highest of the high to become the lowest
of the low.
How He loves His Father; how He loves us.

We cannot help but reciprocate that love.

New Life Through Jesus

He died to cancel your sin. If you accept Jesus the Messiah as your Saviour
and as your Lord you have overcome Satan's power.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive.

(1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

You are free in the name of Jesus, free from the law of the Old Covenant.
The law of the ten commandments was put there for the lawless. You are
free to sin, there is no more law.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

(John 8:31-32)

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law,
but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the
law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye
were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became
the servants of righteousness.

(Romans 6:14-18)

You are free to sin, but if you are truly born again you will not want
to sin. You will not want to sin because you love Jesus with a never-ending
spiritual love. That is why there is no law. Jesus knows you are safe,
that you will not willingly sin. That is why God says "I will put my
will in their hearts." But He will only do this if you make the first move.

This means that if you see a professing Christian sinning wilfully
he is in danger of hellfire. If he does not read the Bible regularly because
he does not want to, if he does not have the time, he is showing that he
has not God's will in his heart. This includes church ministers who take
your money.

What Is Wilful Sin?

We are all born with the knowledge of right from wrong, not so? Wilful
sin is a sin that you know that you are committing while you are doing
it. If, with a contrite heart, you ask God to forgive you, He will do so.
Repeat that wilful sin and He might not forgive you, because you are showing
lack of concern about breaking the Covenant. Other sin that a Christian
commits, such as sin that is done on the spur of the moment, or one that
someone has to point out to you, will be forgiven if you repent of it.
This kind of sin is usually a once only, or an involuntary sin that you
perform less and less as you grow in the knowledge of Christ.

Once you are born again you do not have to work at loving the Lord,
going to church, being kind to others, putting yourself second; God has
put the will in you. You have the Holy Spirit living in you. He speaks
to your spirit. Your spirit tells your soul (will) what to do. If you obey
the Holy Spirit when He calls, you are born again. You will be with Jesus
forever! Hallelujah!

Here It Is!

If you choose, God can now put His will in your heart. It shall no longer
be an effort to do God's will. You will want to because God gives you the
spiritual power to do so.

Here is the most important decision, the crossroads of your life. There
is no other way. There is no easy way out. God does not want sinners in
heaven. In fact He will make sure that there are none. He does this
by making sure of you. You must burn your boats behind you and rely on
Him.

The first act that you must willingly choose to do is to repent. Repent,
repent, this cannot be stressed enough. You must willingly repent. This
is not lightly undertaken, it is a major decision of your life.

The Collins English Dictionary describes the word repent as follows:-
to feel remorse (for); be contrite (about); show penitence (for).

The Lord Jesus said:

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent ye shall all
likewise perish.

(Luke 13:3)

The first recorded words of John the Baptist were:

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

(Matthew 3:1-2)

Likewise, Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, said:

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel.

(Mark 1:14-15)

In the book of Acts, where the gospel (glad tidings) of Jesus was put into
practice, we read:

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and
said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

(Acts 2:37-38)

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

(Acts 3:19)

Here is the apostle Paul's teaching as shown in Acts 20:20-21

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you,
but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Repent From What?

We previously read that our ideas of right and wrong came from the God-given
knowledge that we were born with, from what our parents taught us and from
our circumstances in life. What binds us together here however, is what
God believes is right and wrong. If one person has been brought up in non-Christian
circumstances, he or she will know less of God's will than another who
has some knowledge of the Bible. God's standards are in the Bible in the
form of the Ten Commandments. They are called the law and we must all stand
in their shadow and use them as a guide to please God, Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit.

What God was actually saying when they were written was "I am in these
Commandments, they are My Will, if you love Me try and keep them."

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands
of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the
name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless
that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is
the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in
six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them
is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath
day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may
be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not
kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy
neighbour's.

(Exodus 20:1-17)

When we use God's law as a standard, we all know what to repent from.

Here's a worldly example of what is meant:
Many "good" people, when driving on the freeway exceed the speed limit,
perhaps because they see other motorists doing the same. Because many do
it, the conviction of law-breaking is not in the forefront of their concern.
However, when the law comes up from behind with flashing lights, the possibility
of being caught is apparent and everyone slows down. You see, the presence
of the law brings the conviction of sin to the fore.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who
are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge
of sin.

(Romans 3:19-20)

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But
after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

(Galatians 3:23-26)

Going back to Exodus, what was the reaction of the people to hearing God's
law?

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise
of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it,
they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou
with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you,
and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

(Exodus 20:18-20)

So, repentance means remorse for having done something that God hates.
It might take one person some time to learn about repentance because he
or she must grasp the truths of God, whereas another might be able to repent
much sooner. However, at some time we all must come to the point of repentance
and a stand must be taken. We must openly declare Jesus Christ as our Lord;
ask His forgiveness for our sins; be baptised; so that rivers of living
spiritual water can flow out of our bellies.

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds
of the law.

(Romans 3:28)

It is most important to realise that only now does the Holy Spirit enter
our physical body and is able to control our lives, with the result that
the curse of the law's conditions disappears, since He continually convicts
us of sin and builds us up spiritually as we ask Him. Remember, the law
was written for the lawless; we are no longer lawless, we are children
of God, our names are written in the book of life. We have moved from the
worldly conditions of the Ten Commandments to the spiritual realm of His
presence.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(Romans 8:1-4)

We shall know that the Holy Spirit lives within us because He shows
Himself to us. He is real. It takes time for this fact to be realised,
because various barriers that were put up in the time of Satan's kingdom
need to be broken down. Mere words cannot describe the feelings resulting
from an experience of His indwelling presence.

A good example of repentance in the Bible is shown in Luke 7:36-50. Please
study it carefully.

Repent means willingness to give up the grog parties, the fast cars,
the gossiping, the true but unkind word, and if you are living with your
boyfriend or girlfriend, to give that up as well. You will turn completely
around, change your sense of values, with your whole heart, without holding
anything back. You must empty yourself of sin so that the Lord can fill
you up. If you have a secret sin that nobody knows about, you will need
to repent of it. God knows everything about you, he knows how many hairs
you have on your head. He knows about that sin. Part of repenting is confessing
your sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you for having committed them.
If you try to repent at an emotional time, such as at an altar call, and
the next day carry on sinning, you have not made it. If a church minister
assures you that you are born again because you repeated the salvation
prayer, don't believe him. Did you mean it when you said that prayer? You
were speaking directly to God when you prayed. If you meant it, God heard
you and He has already entered into you in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Not maybe, for sure. You may not feel any different yet, but you must believe
in faith.Another part of repenting is swallowing your pride, admitting that
Jesus is Lord of your life, openly to your friends. By the way, are you
prepared to lose your friends? Are you prepared to give up being the "main
man."

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of
my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the
Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the
holy angels.

(Mark 8:38)

If they laugh at you, can you handle it?

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when
they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you,
and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in
that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in
heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

(Luke 6:22-23)

The heart of the Gospel is change. From being a creature belonging
in the kingdom of Satan, you will become a creature belonging to the Kingdom
of God. The hinge of the door into the Kingdom is repentance. The door
will not open without it. There is no other way.

If the church which you attend does not preach repentance and its implications,
find another church or gathering of Christians that does, because Satan's
first line of deception to potential enemies is to make them believe that
they have done enough to enter heaven.

Once you have truly made that first giant step for Jesus - and you
must do it, your minister cannot do it for you, only then shall God place
His will in you by way of the Holy Spirit. You will find it easy to give
up smoking because you will have God's spiritual power in you. You will
no longer want to do 80 in a 60 kph speed zone, because Jesus will not
like that. You want to please Him. You want to be obedient to Him, you
want to do His will, you ask Him what it is He wants you to do. He is truly
Lord of your life. You will want to read the Bible so that you can learn
more about your Lord. You will be born again. You will be a new creature,
old things are passed away, all things are become new. You have become
new.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this priceless gift.

The Other Principality

Very briefly, so that you know that it exists; there is another spiritual
power, another church, one with many of the trappings of the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ; for example, worshipping the "Holy Spirit", being
baptised, using the name of Jesus, using the Bible, speaking in tongues
and even experiencing fruits of the real church such as miracles.

This is the church of the angel of light as explained in the Bible:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves
into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall
be according to their works.

(2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Many of the people worshipping Jesus in this false church genuinely believe
that they are born again and are going to heaven. This is the apostate
church, a subject that will be covered at another time if the Holy Spirit
so wills it. The people that populate this church, and many of the largest
congregations in the land belong to this group, have not truly repented
of their sins. Not all commandments of the Bible are taught, only some
- the popular ones. They are only interested in preaching the good news
in the Bible because the warnings of God are unpopular, with the result
that many false teachings proliferate. Instead of receiving the Holy Spirit
they receive a counterfeit.

For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee
unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are
a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among
them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of
their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost
dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at
their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak
my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear:
for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I
say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open
thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand
was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without:
and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

(Ezekiel 2:4-10)

The Beginning Of Life

Being born again is the beginning of a growing process, just like in the
world. You start off as a baby drinking milk, and as you become older,
stronger food is given to you. The food of the born again Christian is
prayer, studying the Bible (not just reading it), worshipping God with
other believers and listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit. He willspeak to you, be assured of that. You must learn to hear His voice.
The more mature you become, the more you will hear from The Holy Spirit.
The more you are obedient to the inner voice of the Lord, the more He will
bless you with His presence and show you spiritual truths.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

(John 14:21)

To Help You

Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou
didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy
God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

(Daniel 10:12)

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

(James 5:16b)

Here is a suggestion that might help you in your search for God's continual
blessing:

Before you pray, focus your attention on God, try to imagine what He
looks like and pray to Him; don't just start praying. A good way is on
your knees in humility. Spend most of the time thanking and glorifying
your Maker. Pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus. Don't ask for
worldly gifts, but spiritual; and at the end, ask the Holy Spirit to open
your spiritual eyes to the Scripture that you are about to read, in the
name of Jesus. Only then should you start reading your Bible. If you follow
the examples in Matthew chapter six you will be blessed.

Spiritual Death

If you stop getting spiritual food you will die, you will go back into
the world and Satan will claim you.

The Apostle Paul wrote

For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith,
lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

(1 Thessalonians 3:5)

Jesus said

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in
me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine,
ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you.

(John 15:1-7)

As can be expected in a war, the born again buzzword has been taken over
by Satan the deceiver and many, many (good) people who believe that they
are going to heaven will discover the deception once they leave this life.
There will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth. Once on the other side it
will be too late to repent. Let this not happen to you.

Do You Believe That You Are Ready?

Read below what you should undertake. Do you feel comfortable in carrying
out all the points listed below? Do you understand that Jesus's blood can
save you? You must be honest or God will not hear you.

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son
shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if
he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

(Luke 11:10-13)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on
him shall not be ashamed.

(Romans 10:8-11)

What to do

Admit that you are a sinner.
Be willing to repent and forsake your sins.
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried and rose from the
dead.
Through prayer, ask God to place the Holy Spirit into your body so
that He can show you your wonderful saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What to Pray

Heavenly Father, God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that
Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died to set me free from my sin.
I repent from my sin. I believe in my heart that You, in Your Almighty
Power, raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and I entreat You that You,
by Your grace, give me the Holy Spirit to teach me Your Righteousness and
Power, that I may be approved of You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.

By repeating the above prayer, you have entered into Covenant with God
through the Sacrifice and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you don't
understand the significance of the Blood Covenant, please first read Part
Two which explains this subject.

Now:

Talk to God in prayer every day.

Read your Bible every day to get to know the Lord Jesus Christ better.
Start with the gospel of John.

Be Biblically baptized, worship, fellowship and serve God with other Christians
in a group or church where the risen Christ is preached and the Bible is
the authority in all respects.

Tell others about your Lord at every opportunity.

Learn to become a doer as explained in James chapter one.

**************

And here is the PROMISE to you, child of God:

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

(1 John 4:4)

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them
that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them
alive in famine.

(Psalm 33:18-19)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty.

(Psalm 91:1)

Now that you are truly born again, you must learn to be obedient to your
heavenly Father.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and
keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:
and his commandments are not grievous.

(1 John 5:2-3)

This Scripture lets us know that God's commandments will not be found grievous
to keep.

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name
of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some
to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from
these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's
use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts:
but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on
the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid,
knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not
strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness
instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they
may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive
by him at his will.

(2 Timothy 2:19-26)

That great man of God, the apostle Paul wrote:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the
law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith: